Helen & Vance's Journey on the Maiden World Cruise of the Seabourn Quest from Fort Lauderdale to Singapore from January 5th until February 28th 2012.
Latest posts are at the top. Scroll down page for earlier posts or click the links in the right hand column.

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Friday - Have now left St. Helena and have the next three
days at sea before reaching Namibia. This is just as well as I feel terrible
this morning as I have the sore throat that seems to be sweeping around the
ship - Vance says I've just been talking too much - not true!!Feeling so bad that I am just having a quiet
day in the shade feeling sorry for myself.... although I did manage to soldier
on and imbibe in our noon day cold beer - good for the throat!!

Have managed to get some photos of the Fashion &
Jewellery show from last week...thank you Juvy for the photos.

It's Saturday now and still not feeling 100% but Graeme our
executive chef has invited us to lunch and a catch-up. He has cooked Vance and
I a Brit meal so we joined him in the main dining room at 1pm for individual
meat pies with English cut chips and Heinz baked beans with HP brown sauce.....delicious.

Clocks forward another half an hour today at 2pm making it
then 2:30pm...hmm less snooze time...but made up for it by having a really early
night after a quiet meal for just the two of us.

Sunday - last day at sea. Feeling a lot better today so back
out in the sun and had lunch at the Patio Grill after, of course, our noon day
beer.Rumour has it that there are now
only two Coronas left on board the ship....disaster ...what will we do
.....hope they manage to get some more in Namibia tomorrow or we will be on
rations (one bottle between two) until Cape Town.

Another half an hour today at 2pm so we are now two hours
ahead of British time. Not sure I like this west to east travelling losing time
every couple of days.... thank goodness next year we'll be cruising east to west
again and getting an extra hours sleep from time to time...although losing a
complete day when we eventually cross the International Date Line.

Kinesis this afternoon and even though the ship was rocking
and rolling our instructor Marvin 'The Stritch' - decided that the Kinesis wall
exercises would be supplemented with the balance board. Needless to say I fell
off a few times.

Went to the show tonight in The Grand Salon with the new
cast who joined the ship in Rio. The show was called 'Unforgettable' with
tributes to Rosemary Clooney (Vance says 'Who's she...George's wife'), Perry
Como and Nat King Cole. It wasn't our cup of tea but their voices were
fabulous.

Sunday, 29 January 2012

After a late but fantastic Beatles music night on deck the
captain decided to arrive early at St. Helena. The anchor went down at 7:15am
waking me up...thanks captain!!

A little history lesson: St. Helena was discovered by a Portuguese
navigator on May 21st 1502 which is the feast day of St. Helena.It is the second oldest remaining British
territory after Bermuda and the capital Jamestown was founded in 1659 by the
English East India Company and named after James, Duke Of York, the future King
James II of England.

We took the scenic St. Helena tour leaving Jamestown harbour
and driving up the narrow, steep and tortuous roads to our first stop - Napoleon's
Tomb. Napoleon had been exiled here after his defeat at the battle of Waterloo and died here in 1821 although his remains
were later taken to the Invalides in Paris in 1841.

From here we drove on to Longwood House his home whilst in exile.
It is now a museum containing paintings, documents and mementoes of his
imprisonment including his coat and hat and his bathtub. He spent the last six years
of his life here and apparently he was allowed to go anywhere within a five
mile radius of the house - a nice place to be banged up!!

Next stop was the governor's residence The Plantation House
but everyone was more interested in meeting the island's oldest resident - Jonathan
the tortoise reputed to be 180 years old.

From here we drove to Ladder Hill which is at the top of
Jacob's Ladder where we took photos of our ship in the outer harbour and photos
of the town and harbour below us. The ladder built in 1829 consists of 699
steps and rises 600 feet. It was originally used to haul manure up and send
goods down and is now a landmark of St. Helena.

Back down in Jamestown we strolled around the town exploring
the shops and chatting to the locals - they don't get many visitors dropping in
here - and then said hello to the local "bobbies" (policemen) one of
whom had served two years in the Gloucester police force back in the UK which
is quite close to our home in Bristol - small world!! As we had missed our noon day beer onboard we found
the local pub where we quenched our thirst with the local brew.

Today is also Australia Day which commemorates the arrival
of the first fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of
British sovereignty. Happy Australia Day to all our Aussie friends both onboard
and across the world.

Saturday, 28 January 2012

It's blowing a 'hooley' today so have decided not to fight
the towels - Seabourn...we need towel clips or pillow ended towels to fit over
the top of the sunbed on windy days!!

Off for coffee, skinny white latte for me and cappuccino for
Vance - no Danish though - I am determined to keep the weight off even if I
don't actually lose any on this cruise.....although the waistband of my
trousers is definitely looser so all those "planks" and sit ups in
the Kinesis class are beginning to work.....slowly but surely.

Late morning we sat out by the pool as the sun filtered
through the clouds and watched the water in the pool get rougher and rougher -
not many swimmers today. Despite the wind we persevered in true Brit style to
make our noon beer - well done chaps!!

At 10pm The Quest held an open air 'Rock The Boat' British
style Beatles Party and yes the weather was kind to us for once. A fab evening
as everyone knew most of the Beatles songs so we sang along and danced under
the stars until late.

Friday, 27 January 2012

Getting ever closer to St. Helena but still a long way to
go. The temperature is lower than we thought it would be, only 75°f,
but the wind has dropped and it's like a beautiful English mid-summer day.

Clocks forward thirty minutes at 2pm today so I think we're
now on UK time.

At 3pm there was the infamous Seabourn event The Tug Of War
where teams from the ship's crew challenge each other in a tug of war knock out
system.

John Barron our cruise director was the master of ceremonies
and the captain was the starter and referee. It was the best of three pulls for
each challenge and each of the teams were noisily supported by us, the watching
guests and other staff and crew members.

After a close contest the final came down to The Rob Roys
against The Pancakes. John said 'what a dilemma, who do I support...it's
between drinks and food...guess I'm on a drinks only diet tonight' .... a
prophesy as The Rob Roys finally won...well done Seabourn Quest teams.Decided to have room service tonight just pizza and a bottle
of Chianti Classico sitting on the bed watching the film Contagion, then early
to sleep.

Techie bits: At 9:30am we were:19° south
and 17°
west
Travelling on a compass course of 078°
Speed = 14.5 knots
Apparent wind speed = 33 knots off the starboard bow
Air temperature = 24°c (75°f)
Total nautical miles sailed = 6145 (it seems we're right in the middle of the
Atlantic - see photo)
Sea depth = 3730 metres
Humidity = 67%

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Have decided that today will be a slob-out day - the day
where we haven't done things. We haven't done the bridge tour or the
shuffleboard tournament or the enrichment lecture or trivia in fact apart from
laying by the pool in the sun the first we have done is have our noon day beer
and gone to lunch!!

Another half an hour forward at 2pm today and then more of
the same...not doing things...chill!!

I don't know if I'm coming or going at the moment, these
time changes are doing my head in - I lay down to have a snooze after lunch and
it's time for the gym (not the wine at lunch of course!!).

Yes it's kinesis day again and it's still not getting much
easier. While we were at kinesis there was a fashion show in the observation
bar featuring the fashion and jewellery items from the boutique. We missed it
because we were in the gym but I will try and get photos from one of the guests
and post them up here later.

We have decided to have some fun with Dan The Diver - he
will have a fan club with people posing for pictures and he will enjoy some
fashionable moments throughout the rest of our cruise - so keep checking back
folks.

Formal night tonight, Murat the guest services manager invited
us to his hosted table which we have accepted. We had a lovely time but Vance
has put his foot down and said 'that's enough of hosted tables - too many people'
- but we will join John Barron (Cruise
Director and a brummie boy) on his hosted table at some time before the end of
our quest - we promised!!

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Laundry day today - whoopee...Had an early breakfast so that
I could grab a washing machine to do a full load of washing. There are only four machines and four dryers on the
ship for the guests to use. Luckily they
are all on our deck - deck 5 - so I can run along the corridor and check when
one is available. There are also four ironing boards available ... I don't
usually iron but I've made an exception for Vance's shirts on this cruise...phew,
thank goodness that's over for another week.

Actually Seabourn are now offering a "laundry in a bag"
service where they will launder and press all the items you can fit into the laundry
bag (no dry cleaning though) at a total charge of $50 per bag. If you could
cram more than ten items in the bag it works out at good value. Vance says
"no, you do the washing Helen and I'll have the $50 towards my massage!!"

Another half an hour forward this afternoon so we're now
only an hour behind UK time.

Disaster this
afternoon...Vance ripped his favourite cut-off pirate pants on the back of the
sunbed. Several guests came up with a few ideas on how 'I' could repair them
but those of you who know my needlework skills will know it's a no go area.
Instead I gave the pants to Jerry the resident tailor who returned them a few
hours later with a perfect invisible mend...thanks Jerry and Seabourn!!

Those of you who followed our last year's Sojourn blog may
remember a picture of the ship's mascot on deck 5 - the dachshund. The Quest
has a different mascot - 'The Diver' by Ola Enstad. Vance has christened him
'Dan The Diver'.

Techie bits: At 8am we were:
22° south
and 31°
west
Travelling on a compass course of 081°
Speed = 18 knots
Apparent wind speed = 32 knots off the bow
Air temperature = 25°c (77°f)
Total nautical miles sailed = 5310
Sea depth = 4650 metres (when the sea depth first came up on the TV screen it
read 9 metres...we thought we were having a Costa moment then we realised the
screen hadn't refreshed properly...luckily for us it was a mistake...phew!!
Humidity = 66%

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

We now have five days at sea crossing the Atlantic from Rio
to the island of St. Helena. For some people this will be too long a period
without stepping on terra firma but Vance and I really enjoy the restful time and
the social buzz around the ship which seems to get greater the longer you are
at sea.

Today we received a note from Vitor the hotel manager to say
that there will be four hours worth of time changes between now and Cape Town.
With this in mind the captain has decided to soften the blow for both guests and
crew and the clocks will be put forward by thirty minutes at 2pm for the next
four days and then again between St. Helena and Namibia (2 days) and the final
hour change will be made at night as usualjust before we arrive in Cape Town.

So at 2pm today our clocks read 2:30pm. Vance made our lunch
party laugh when a waiter asked him at about 1:59pm if he would like another
glass of wine. Vance replied 'no thanks I'll wait until 2:30pm' ....with that
the ship's intercom announced the time had changed and Vance said 'OK I'll have
that wine now thanks'...you had to be there of course!!

This afternoon Vance finally managed to 'bag' a Massage Moment - a complimentary 10 minute
massage on deck...lovely ...I have pictures!!. The problem is - as Seabourn obviously
intend - he loved it so much he now
wants to book the full one hour ($140) massage...no chance!!

Thai menu in The Colonnade tonight so we couldn't resist
it...it was brilliant especially the green chicken curry. Very romantic as the
sun set behind us off the bow of the ship as we dined by candlelight.

Already behind us
there were hundreds of people - today is a bank holiday in Rio - waiting to buy
tickets for the next train - they were every 20 minutes. Corcovado, also known
as the Humpbacked Mountain, is over 2326 feet high and is topped by the statue
of Christ the Redeemer which has become the symbol of modern Rio. It is made of
reinforced concrete and was completed in 1931. It weighs over 1000 metric tons
and stand 98 feet tall.

When we reached the top there were only about 30 of us there
fromthe first train up so we really
enjoyed the tranquillity of the views and the almost spiritual feel as we gazed
up at the face of Jesus. We took so many photos - it was a beautiful moment
that we'll never forget. Twenty minutes later as the next train arrived we
were swamped by hundreds of people and the peaceful moment was then gone. The
viewing area was soon covered with noisy crowds, pushing and shoving, trying to
get the best spots for their photo moments...time to go!!

So it was back down the mountain by the train where we
rejoined our coach ready for our next stop at the beaches. First stop was
Ipanema beach where we just drove along the promenade as the traffic made it
difficult to stop. Then it was onward to Copacabana beach where the driver was
lucky enough to find a place to stop for ten minutes. We rushed across the promenade
to get our first sight of this famous beach which due to the bank holiday was
already crowded by the locals.

Whilst taking photos we were approached by a TV film crew
who were making a documentary on the affect tourists have on Rio. We were
interviewed and asked about our impressions of Rio and why we had decided to
come there. The TV company was called Global and they do a daily lunchtime programme
that is broadcast to over 28 million viewers in Brazil. The show went out at
1:30pm so I guess by now we're famous - in Brazil anyway - unless they edited
us out of course...but we'll never know as we couldn't get that station on our ship. By now it was
31°c so it was back to the ship in our air conditioned coach in time for our
noon day ritual.

Sail away on deck was at 5:45pm where we enjoyed the
departing views of Christ The Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain...bye, bye Rio
and thank you - we'll be back!!

Sunday, 22 January 2012

Following the success of Tuesday night's carnival party on
deck the Quest has now run out of fresh limes and lemons. They used over 50kgs
of limes!! - we must all have over indulged in caipirinhas.

However my ex boy scout husband is always prepared and had
his own private supply - delivered daily - for his pre-dinner drink(s)... so we
took our own limes up to the pool bar (much to the amusement of the waiters)
for our noon corona with a wedge of lime...of course.

This afternoon we had our second and final Samba class as
our Brazilian Samba troupe will be leaving the ship tonight in Rio when we dock
at 6pm. I think we're getting the hang of it a bit more now. Although our footwork
is still a bit slow our finishing flourish is magnificent...well so we think!!

We sailed into Rio a little earlier than the planned 6pm
arrival and it was light enough for us to have superb views of the Sugar Loaf Mountain
standing sentinel at the harbour entrance and the famous Christ The Redeemer statue
standing high on the Corcovado Mountain. This was a really breathtaking sail
in.

A few facts: Rio is Brazil's second largest city and is
separated from the rest of the country by a mountain range. From its beginnings
as a Portuguese colonial trading outpost it has spread to fill the space
between the mountains and the sea. Add
to this the superb white beaches fringed with palms, the fabulous temperature
that rarely dips below 20°C (68°F) and the Carnival this really is a "Cidade
Maravilhosa" - Marvellous City.

This evening half the ship's guests seemed to have gone
ashore to enjoy their first taste of Rio but we decided to have a quiet
alfresco meal at the Patio Grill before an early night because of our early
sightseeing tour tomorrow morning. And what a meal...at 8:30pm the heavens
opened for a twenty minute torrential downpour and really tested the waiters
ingenuity in getting our food to us dry. Thank goodness for Seabourn umbrellas
- well done Valentina and her staff. I love storms like this so for me it was a
perfect welcome to Rio - there was thunder, lightning and rain...by the bucket
load!!

After a quick trip to the Samba Carnival Show now movedinside to the Grand Salon it was early to bed
for a 6:30am alarm call.

A local Samba troupe joined the ship in Salvador and will stay
with us until Rio. They really got the party going with some great music and
dance routines.

This afternoon we went to a Samba class run by the
dancers for an hour. It was so hard like having an aerobic workout. Vance was
really good - that's his dance background coming out - but teacher says I must do
better!!

After returning to our suite after a formal dinner in the Main
Restaurant we found our first Seabourn gift of the cruise - two CDs - one of
Brazilian music and one of South African music...now I'll be able to keep up
the Samba moves at home.

Arrived at 8am in Salvador where the temperature was already
in the high seventies...just like home!!...not.

Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and one of
the oldest in the Americas and is now the third most populous Brazilian city
after Sao Paulo and Rio. A notable feature is the escarpment that divides the
town into the upper town and the lowertown. The former being nearly 280 feet above the latter and an elevator know
as the 'Elevador Lacerda' -an Art Nouveau building has connected the two
sections since 1928 and is one of the greatest landmarks of Salvador. The
elevator trip only cost 15 cents per person each way....a real bargain.

We did our own thing again today as opposed to an organised
tour taking the elevator to the upper town where the view to the harbour area
below was amazing. We strolled through the old cobbled streets viewing the
beautiful baroque buildings on our way
to the main square with its churches and the cathedral which was rather austere
on the outside but stunning inside with the walls and ceiling of the sacristy
adorned with paintings.....no flash photography was allowed so no photos to
show you how beautiful it is.

Some local women dressed in their national dress asked if
we'd like a photograph with them...of course after the photo was taken their
hands were soon out for some money...a typical tourist rip off!!....and we got
caught!!We bought a few local souvenirs and I bought a panama style
hat that can be folded or rolled up small...saves on the packing. Vance
bargained the vendor down from 20 to 10 reais - just under £4. The temperature
was now in the high eighties so we made our way back down to the harbour and
the ship ready for a cooling noon time ... yes you've guessed it ... beer.

We enjoyed Brazilian cocktails and canapés with live music
on deck for the 5:30pm sail away.Later
this evening after the Brazilian themed dinner in the Colonnade there will be a
samba party out on deck but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Thursday, 19 January 2012

A strange morning, first it's hot and sunny - really hot
about 87f - then out of nowhere there is a sudden downpour. Everyone runs for
cover and the pool boys and waiters rush to bring the towels and cushions under
cover. Ten minutes later the sun comes out and we start the cycle all over
again. After the third time we gave up and went to The Square for coffee - no danish
though.

There was an obstacle course golf putting competition at The
Retreat on deck 11 but we didn't make it...rained off...Vance should have
brought his wet weather gear - he might have won!!

We also didn't make it to that morning's line dancing class
(sorry Michelle) or the cooking demo (sorry Graeme) in fact it seems that once
we get into The Square and I bury my nose in The Daily Mail time seems to disappear...Vance
gets some him only time...ah...

Kinesis this afternoon where the class seems to be getting
smaller as the exercise become harder - we're still there though. After class I
spent some time on the computer catching up with blog text and emails etc.

We were invited to dine on a hosted table by Michelle our
social hostess and this time we accepted and really enjoyed meeting the nine other
guests.

No Photo Show Today - but there will be loads of photos tomorrow
in Salvador.

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Recife which means reef was named for the coral which lies
off its coast. It is made up of three sections - the mainland, the peninsula
and the Island. Bridges of stone and iron connect the three and it is known for
its canals, rivers, bridges and one-way streets making it locally know as the
Venice of Brazil.

We decided to take the local shuttle service and do our own
thing rather than do an organised tour.

The shuttle from ship to town dropped us at The Casa da
Cultura - a former prison turned handicraft market. It was really interesting
to walk down the corridors of cells and see how the prison was originally - but
now each cell houses a different craft shop.

Back to the ship for noon day beer and lunch before leaving
again on a complimentary Seabourn tour to The Carvalheira Distillery which
makes cachaca the most popular alcoholic drink in Brazil. After a tour of the
facility we enjoyed several caipirinhas and canapés while we watched local
Brazilian folkloric dancers.

On the way back to the ship we drove along the local beach
coast and were amazed at the length of the beach and being Sunday it was full
of locals.

A caviar sail-away party tonight - I had a "virgin"
caviar canapé i.e. wafer with egg, egg white, onion and sour cream but no
caviar - I learnt my lesson many years ago by over indulging on caviar at a
beach party on Prickly Pear Island in the Caribbean on New Year's Eve ...I
haven't touched it since.

As everyone was back on board early the captain brought the
sail-away forward - certainly a first on this cruise .

Today it was Galley Market Lunch where Executive Chef Graeme
and the entire food and beverage department presented a culinary feast. The
cold starters and desserts were laid out in the main restaurant while the hot
foods - starters and mains - were prepared and served throughout the galley.

It's a great chance to see where all of our wonderful foods
are prepared and to meet the individual chefs at each food station.

The only problem with this of course is it all looks so
delicious you end up with too much food and with the wine flowing freely we
needed to retire to our sunbed for an afternoon snooze in the shade.

Fourth Kinesis class today but after all that food it was
hard work, Marvin 'The Stritch' pushed us even harder...give us a break Marv!!

Dined in The Colonnade this evening...Chinese .... the
appetiser was a choice of roasted duck pancake Shanghai style with spicy cucumberand plum sauce or steamed pork dim sum with a
sweet chilli sauce. Vance couldn't decide which so guess what...he had both...I
don't know how he stays so slim!!

This was followed by Szechuan Chicken for me and Sweet And
Sour Shrimp for Vance. Lucky we had that workout earlier.

Showtime tonight was mezzo soprano Heather Clancy. Her intro
was described as 'A tart, effervescent take on the solemn world of opera.....
and John the cruise director managed to put a long pause after the word tart
which of course brought laughs from the audience - he quickly tongue in cheek
apologised. Luckily for John she took it all in good fun otherwise she would
have had his guts for garters.

Don't forget that you can get an automatic email notifying
you when I post a new blog...See Follow Me in the right hand column.

Sunday, 15 January 2012

Caught the sun yesterday so being careful today - spent the
morning in the Square reading the Daily Mail, coffee (no Danish today - being
good!!) and also had a long chat with Murat the Guest Services Manager.

Vance is already talking about cruising on The Quest next
January so he went to see Lindsay the future cruise sales manager and has a
price for the first two segments next year which will start in Fort Lauderdale
on January 6th, cruise through the Caribbean to the Pacific ocean via the
Panama Canal then visit several islands in the Pacific on route to Sydney. We
are supposed to visit Rarotonga which we should have visited last year but due
to bad weather we never made it. I won't hold my breath in anticipation of ever
seeing that island.

The ship then sails up the east coast of Oz to Cairns and
Thursday Island before crossing to several islands in Indonesia finally
arriving in Hong Kong on March 9th. So another possible 61 days cruise for us.

Formal night tonight so we reserved a lovely table for six
guests in the "high ceilings" area which is located in the very centre
of the restaurant where we were joined by four friends. Thanks to Andre the
Maitre d' for sorting it out for us.

Open mike joke night in The Observation Bar after dinner at
11pm. It was advertised with a disclaimer saying 'If you are easily offended
please avoid this lounge for 45 minutes as we cannot edit what happens here
tonight' ......it was definitely good advice. It was such fun I laughed and
laughed. Vance's contribution was two brilliant jokes, well received despite
being a little risqué.

In bed by just after midnight...bet we are not up at 7:00am...zzzzzzzzz

Techie bits again. At 8am this morning we were:0° north / south and 43°
west
Travelling on a compass course of 119°
Speed = 17 knots
Wind speed = 28 knots from the north east
Air temperature = 27°c (81°f)
Total nautical miles sailed = 2707
Sea depth = 3340 metres

Our Pollywogs (those who have never crossed the equator) had
to stand trial for various misdemeanours concocted by the master of ceremonies
and had to plead guilty or not guilty. Not surprisingly whatever they pleaded
they were found guilty by King Neptune and sentenced to be covered in multi
coloured gloop and to "kiss the fish" before being pushed into the
swimming pool. We Shellbacks having already suffered the ceremony on previous
crossings could just heckle the Pollywogs and enjoy the entertainment.

Although we were only watching, Vance managed to get glooped
as well - Pollywog Marvin The Stritch who was covered head to toe in gloop saw
Vance and rushed over to give him a big hug.....it was really funny until I had
to spend half an hour trying to get the gloop out of Vance's clothes (luckily
he had swimming trunks and a t-shirt on) and hair....the hair on his arms and
chest that is!!

Dinner outside at the Colonnade again
tonight...Polynesian....and the Hawaiian Chic ken was fabulous....I am going to
get therecipe....for Vance to cook at
home.

Well we finally made it to a show....."Showtime with
Singer and Entertainer Paul Fredericks". He's one of those singers who has
a fantastic range and is just as comfortable singing 'up in the gods' as 'down
in the basement'. His material ranged from fifties and sixties pop to west end show
tunes and even some classical. This was interspersed with a good comedy patter
and surprise, surprise it turned out that he has family in Bristol...small
world!!

Friday, 13 January 2012

Arrived at Devil's Island in French Guiana at 9am where it's
already very hot and the humidity is 81%.

Devil's Island is the smallest of the three 'Iles Du Salut'
located 6 nautical miles off the coast of French Guiana and was part of the
French penal colony until 1952. The island was made notorious by the book and
then the Steve McQueen film Papillon which was the nickname of Henri Charriere
the only known convict to escape from the island. Access to Devil's Island is
now forbidden as it hosts a satellite tracking station but we were allowed to
visit the neighbouring island 'Ile Royale' which was also part of the penal
colony.

Royale was the headquarters of the colony where the administrators
and their families lived including the prison governor, the doctor, guards and soldiers.
The governor's residence is now a museum tracing the history of the island. The
barracks is now a hotel (not 5 star!!) and there is a chapel decorated
with paintings by a convict of prison life.

We had a leisurely walk around the island and explored the
sites and even went inside one the prison areas. Vance tried to leave me there
but I escaped.

A great experience but we were pleased to get back to the
luxury of our home away from home and our noon cold beer.

We had dinner by candlelight at The Colonnade tonight in the
balmy open air under the awning at the back of the ship...just the two of us (I
mean Vance of course!!) - ah...so romantic.

The curse of the 'Rock The Boat' party out on deck has struck
again - everything was set up for the evening party and then down came the
rain. The party transferred to The Club but it's not the same.

The previous night we had been kept awake by a shrieking
noise that lasted for about 15 minutes then stopped for 5 minutes then started
all over again so in the middle of the night we were searching our suite trying
to locate the noise but it seemed to be moving around. Vance was convinced it
was coming from somewhere in the ceiling.

The next morning on leaving the suite for breakfast Vance
discovered the noise coming from inside an access panel outside of our door. A
quick call to guest services and a visit from the plumber got it fixed within
hours - thanks Seabourn - if I don't get my 8 hours sleep I get VERY grumpy.

Thursday, 12 January 2012

It was quite rough last night as the captain was pushing on
trying to make up some lost time from our delayed departure from Barbados
yesterday.

Cloudy morning so caught up with friends in The Seabourn
Square, read the Daily Mail (sad eh!!) to catch up with events at home, then
just chilled with coffee and a danish pastry.

At twelve noon as promised by the bridge the skies cleared
and we managed to keep our noon cold beer ritual. Lunch at The Colonnade - just
salad - honest...but two glasses of crispy, dry white Gavi (Italian wine)
followed by some sunbed time before dragging ourselves away from the rays to go
to our 4:30pm kinesis class.

I'd like to say it was easier today...but that would be a
fib. Vance has nicknamed our trainer 'Marvin The Stritch' as that's what it sounds
like when he tells us to stretch in his South African accent.

We had dinner with Arnie and Ingrid tonight - they had
bagged our favourite table the last few nights as they get to the restaurant a
lot earlier than us so they suggested we dine together tonight to share "the
table" - a good way to make new friends.

Here's some info for
the techie boys. At 8am this morning we were:
10° north and 57°
west
Travelling on a compass course of 140°
Speed = 18 knts
Wind speed = 30 knots off the port bow
Air temperature = 26°c (79°f)
Total miles sailed = 1653
Sea depth = 3760 metres

Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Seabourn Quest arrived in Bridgetown Barbados at 8am this
morning. We had booked on a 4x4 safari adventure to the heart of the island and
then on to Bathsheba on the Atlantic east coast.

Ten of us boarded the 4x4 open sided jeep . We travelled up
to the centre of the island and into the tropical rainforest - we were warned at time of booking that it
would be dusty and bumpy... and weren't they right!! The forest trails were
muddy and deep rutted and without the heavy duty seatbelts I'm sure that some
of us would have been tossed out of the jeep.

On route to Bathsheba we stopped at a monkey sanctuary where
we were allowed to hold the latest arrivals...two four month old baby monkeys -
cute!!

At Bathsheba we stopped for a welcome break and indulged in
a rum punch cocktail and nibbles. The shore line here was fantastic and the
rocks have been worn away by the relentless pummelling of the Atlantic breakers
making for some spectacular toadstool shaped rock formations.

Leaving the east coast we crossed over to the west coast and
drove through Holetown passing The Sandy Lane hotel and other five star hotels
on that St. James's coast.

We didn't quite make it far enough north to Mullins Beach where
Vance and I got married four years ago but we did make it back to the ship for
our noon cold beer ritual. A great trip but hard on the old bones and bum!!

We spent the afternoon recovering and sunbathing by the pool
as by then the temperature had reached 28c (83f). We were noisily roused from
our sunbed slumbers by the Royal Barbados Police Force Band who had set up on
the pool desk for a medley of Caribbean tunes...whoopee .

Sail away should have been at 4:45pm but was delayed until
6pm as the ship was waiting for a truck of fresh veg to arrive. Guess we'll be
pushing on again tonight to make up the time.

Went to a drinks party in the Observation Bar in the evening
before a quiet romantic dinner for two and then as we were feeling the effects
of the bumpy excursion it was another early night for us. We still haven't made
it to any of the shows in the Grand Salon.....perhaps next week.

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Spent the morning on the sunbed, not hot but balmy then at noon we indulged in our midday rituala Corona Extra beer with a lime wedge!!

Knew it was too good to last as the clouds started to roll in and the rain came down - welcome to the Caribbean. Luckily the outside terrace area of The Colonnade is well covered so we could still lunch out of doors.

Rain, clouds and sun interchanged all afternoon so it was an early bath, pre-dinner drinks in The Club followed by dinner in the Main Restaurant again and off to bed by 10pm only to find that it's now 11pm as the clocks go forward one hour tonight so we will only be four hours behind UK time in the morning.

Sunday 8th January - Day 4

Another day at sea and the weather is slowly getting better and we spent the day sunbathing around the pool before dashing off at 4:30pm for another Kinesis class..phew!! it must be working because the old muscles are beginning to ache.

We joined some newly made friends Noelle and Len for drinks then dinner in the main restaurant. The company was great but the same couldn't be said of Vance's main course - Duck A L'Orange...tough and dry.Luckily I'd ordered the Filet Mignon which was too large for me so hubby finished it off. We went on to The Club for after dinner drinks so we didn't get to see the show which was a British comedian called Paul Adams - hope he'll be on again later in the cruise.

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Today is our first full day at sea and the weather is not being too kind to us with cloud and intermittent showers so most people are congregating at Seabourn Square with coffee, newspapers and books.

I took the opportunity to book some excursions so we can now look forward to a 4x4 jeep ride to explore the east coast of Barbados and a tour in Rio De Janeiro to Christ The Redeemer but more about that later.We both went to our first Kinesis class of the cruise and I found it amazingly hard having not really done any real exercise since leaving the Sojourn last April...Vance of course found it a doddle!!

Our suite this year is on the port side as opposed to last year's starboard position and it's amazing that each time I leave the suite I turn the wrong way for a second or two...old muscle memory kicking in.

It was the first Formal evening tonight so we all put on our glad rags and met up in the Club before going down to a fabulous meal in the Main Restaurant.....the Chateaubriand was delicious. Most people then went off to the Grand Salon to see Marvin Hamilsch, a well known American composer but we are still feeling jet lagged so it's off to bed for us.....sorry Marvin, another time maybe.

Still on UK body time so awake by 3:30am local time...dark outside so back to bed to try to sleep to 5.30am.

Down to breakfast at 6:30am and surprise, surprise most of the other Brits were there as well.

We had the usual Seabourn check in with passports, documents and photo pass then it was down to the newly swept beach for a long morning sandy stroll in the Florida sun...and I had my first paddle of the year. On our walk back to the hotel Vance managed to find what would have been a great boys night out venue 'Hooters' - sorry Vance our ship awaits.

Back in the hotel we spent a couple of hours on the 7th floor pool terrace catching the morning rays...UK weather already seems a long way away.

At 12:15pm our chauffeured limo arrived to take us to our Home Away From Home for the next two months - The Seabourn Quest. We arrived in true Seabourn style.

It really felt like coming home as the ship is a duplicate of our last year's ship The Sojourn making it a doddle for us to find our way around. After lunch in The Colonnade and a quick trip to deck 9 to book our first Kinesis class it was off to our suite to wait for our four cases. Three arrived very quickly so it was down to the chore of unpacking. Then we waited...and waited...and waited for our last case.

We were due to sail at 5pm but allowing that 1/2 the guest's luggage...including my case...was still on the quay we eventually set sail at 6:30pm much to the annoyance of the Captain. However the bonus was a very long sail away party!!

After a casual dinner in the main restaurant my bed was calling me again. zzzzzzzzzzz.

Saturday, 7 January 2012

We loved last year's round the world 'Sojourn' so much that we are back but this time on The Seabourn Quest, not an around the world cruise this time...just 1/2 way, what you could call a semi Quest... so here we go.

Wednesday 4th January 2012

Flew from London Heathrow to Miami with Virgin Atlantic in Upper Class. Before the flight we took full advantage of the Virgin Upperfacilities in their flagship Clubhouse Lounge. After a goodly breakfast Vance had a head, neck and back massage and I had a mini facial. We also could have had afree haircut... well I could but no point for Vance!!

Onboard the flight we had one of the best in-flight meals ever. I started with chilli carrot and lentil soup while Vance had a giant prawn cocktail then we both had a wonderful Thai chicken curry with egg noodles followed by cheeseboard and of course the obligatory glass or two of port.

Landed in Miami on time, cleared immigration and customs quickly with no hassle and then were chauffeured to The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Fort Lauderdale for our overnight stay. No gala dinner for us this year as we are not doing the whole world cruise so straight to our room on the 10th floor with fabulous views of the beach. After a nice long hot soak in the bath and a bit of telly we were asleep by 9:30pm local time...but 2:30am body time zzzzzzzzz.

Sorry folks - I had some greatphotos of the hotel but my computer whiz kid husband deleted them by mistake...dummy!!